The Social Archaeology of Politics

Summary

In this paper, we consider how social archaeology can inform the study of political organization and power, and provide insight into the tumultuous events taking place today. Social archaeology has long made significant contribution towards understanding the conflicts the occur between different classes, ethnicities, and factions. However, social archaeology is equally capable of making important insights into top down processes and address broader topics of state organization and politics. Continuing the tradition, we consider how political systems in the Aztec Empire and the Preclassic Maya region can help unpack and deconstruct the highly polarizing events taking place right now. For example, how can a Preclassic Maya city provide new perspectives in understanding urbanization and inequality? Such approaches are not only routed within a history of social theory, but also stem from the perspective of a feminist, and a Latino scholar. Our ultimate goal is not just to argue for why social archaeology matters, but also how the diversity of perspectives and research agendas is vital to the survival of our field.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Why Social Archaeology Matters

Keywords

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